Psychopaths May Lack Understanding of Social Contracts

From a November 5, 2010 Health Day news item by Robert Preidt

FRIDAY, Nov. 5 (HealthDay News) — Impaired understanding of how social contracts work and why people need to take precautions may explain why psychopaths cheat and take risks even though they know right from wrong, a new study suggests.

Although less than 1 percent of people in the United States are psychopaths, they account for 20 percent of the prison population because of their tendency for impulsive, destructive and harmful behavior, noted the University of New Mexico researchers.

Previous studies have shown that psychopaths know the difference between right and wrong and give typical responses when presented with an example of a moral dilemma. This study  [in the October 2010 issue of  Psychological Science] ***examined another type of reasoning — thinking about precautions and social contracts……

….”This work suggests that psychopaths don’t understand cheating in the normal way, so they might not realize when they’re cheating other people or when other people would react badly to cheating,” study co-author Elsa Ermer said in an Association for Psychological Science news release.

She added that psychopaths’ inability to reason about precautions may explain why they take risks and commit impulsive acts that land them in trouble. It appears they have difficulty “understanding when they can avoid negative consequences of a risk by taking a precaution,” Ermer said.

SOURCE: Association for Psychological Science, news release, Nov. 3, 2010

A related news item.. Logic of a psychopath..

***Click here for suggestions on how to get this article for free or at low cost

Painful Gout on the Rise in U.S.

From a November 8, 2010 Health Day news release

SUNDAY, Nov. 7 (HealthDay News) — More and more Americans are struggling with gout as rates of the painful and sometimes disabling arthritic condition continue a decades-long upswing, a new study shows.

Researchers report that by 2008, an estimated 8.3 million Americans were subject to gout attacks, equivalent to 3.9 percent of the U.S. adult population. That’s a substantial rise from the 2.7 percent prevalence rate noted in the late 1980s to early 1990s.

The findings are to be presented this week in Atlanta at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology. Other research presented at the meeting suggests that two of America’s favorite beverages, coffee and sweetened drinks such as sodas, may contribute to gout risk.

Gout is a very painful form of arthritis caused by a buildup of uric acid. This causes uric acid crystals to be deposited on the cartilage of joints, tendons and other surrounding tissue, especially in the feet, causing an inflammatory reaction….

….”We know there are some factors that can trigger gout attacks, such as consuming alcohol, red meat, and certain seafoods,” she said. “And although a previous study found that, over the long-term, caffeine intake seems to actually lower the body’s uric acid level and decrease the risk for developing gout among those who have never experienced an attack, we wanted to see what the impact of caffeine might be for patients who already have a history of gout.”

According to Neogi, the study found that caffeine “binges” might help spur an outbreak. “Gout patients who usually drink two or fewer servings of a caffeinated beverage per day raise their 24-hour risk for experiencing a gout attack by 40 to 80 percent if they instead drink three or four servings of caffeine,” she said……

SOURCES: Tuhina Neogi, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor, medicine, department of medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, and associate professor, epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health; Nathan Wei, M.D., clinical director, Arthritis Treatment Center, Frederick, Md.; Nov. 6-11, 2010 presentations, American College of Rheumatology annual meeting, Atlanta

Related article: Fructose-Rich Beverages and Risk of Gout in Women
“Fructose-rich beverages such as sugar-sweetened soda and orange juice can increase serum uric acid levels and, thus, the risk of gout, but prospective data on the relationship are limited.”

Treating Anxiety Disorders

From the Fall 2010 issue of the NIH magazine NIH MedlinePlus, Treating Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders are generally treated with medication, specific types of psychotherapy such as “talk therapy,” or both. Treatment depends on the problem and the person’s preference. Before any treatment, a doctor must do a careful evaluation to see whether a person’s symptoms are from an anxiety disorder or a physical problem. The doctor must also check for coexisting conditions, such as depression or substance abuse. Sometimes, treatment for the anxiety disorder must wait until after treatment for the other conditions.

How Medications Can Help

Doctors may prescribe medication, along with talk therapy, to help relieve anxiety disorders. Some medicines may take a few weeks to work. Your family doctor or psychiatrist may prescribe:

• Antidepressants. These medications take up to four to six weeks to begin relieving anxiety. The most widely prescribed antidepressants for anxiety are the SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). Commonly prescribed: Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Lexapro, and Celexa.
• Anti-anxiety medicines (or “tranquilizers”). These medications produce feelings of calm and relaxation. Side effects may include feeling sleepy, foggy, and uncoordinated. The higher the dose, the greater the chance of side effects. Benzodiazepines are the most common class of anti-anxiety drugs.Commonly prescribed: Xanax, Klonopin, Valium, and Ativan.
• Beta blockers. These drugs block norepinephrine, the body’s “fight-or-flight” stress hormone. This helps control the physical symptoms of anxiety, such as rapid heart rate, a trembling voice, sweating, dizziness, and shaky hands. Because beta blockers don’t affect the emotional symptoms of anxiety, such as worry, they’re most helpful for phobias, particularly social phobia and performance anxiety. Commonly prescribed: Tenormin and Inderal.

Click here for a list of related questions to ask your health care provider

Some related Web sites

• Studying Anxiety Disorders
• Don’t Panic
• Symptoms: Personal snapshots of anxiety disorders
• MedlinePlus : Anxiety

Signs and Symptoms of Artery Disease

 

From the Fall 2010 issue of MedlinePlus Health article Signs and Symptoms of Artery Disease

Artery disease (atherosclerosis) usually doesn’t cause symptoms until it severely narrows or totally blocks an artery. Many people don’t know they have the disease until they have a medical emergency, such as a heart attack or stroke. Some people may have signs and symptoms of the disease, but this depends on which arteries are affected.

Coronary Arteries

Coronary arteries supply oxygen-rich blood to the heart. When plaque narrows or blocks these arteries—a condition called coronary artery disease (CAD) orcoronary heart disease (CHD) occurs. A common symptom is angina. Angina is chest pain that occurs when your heart doesn’t get enough oxygen-rich blood.

Angina may feel like pressure or a squeezing pain in your chest. You also may feel it in your shoulders, arms, neck, jaw, or back. It tends to get worse with activity and go away when you rest. Emotional stress also can trigger the pain.

Carotid Arteries

Carotid arteries supply the brain with oxygen-rich blood. When plaque narrows or blocks them (a condition called carotid artery disease), you may experience the symptoms of a stroke, including:

• Sudden weakness or numbness in the face or limbs, often on just one side of the body
• Inability to move one or more of your limbs
• Trouble speaking and understanding
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Dizziness or loss of balance
• A sudden, severe headache with no known cause

PERIPHERAL ARTERY DISEASE

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the P.A.D. Coalition, and other vascular and heart disease organizations are promoting September as National Awareness Month for peripheral artery disease (P.A.D.) and other vascular diseases. (See “To Find Out More”)

Peripheral Arteries

Plaque also can build up in the major arteries supplying oxygen-rich blood to the legs, arms, and pelvis. This is called peripheral artery disease (P.A.D.). If these major arteries are narrowed or blocked, it can lead to numbness, pain, and, sometimes, dangerous infections.

Just like clogged arteries in the heart, clogged arteries in the legs raise the risk for heart attack or stroke. P.A.D. affects approximately 9 million Americans. It is a chronic disease requiring lifelong care. (See illustration on right.)

 

Some related Web sites

• Coronary Artery Disease
  
• Understanding Arteries
  
• Diagnosis & Treatment (of artery disease)
• Coronary Artery Disease: MedlinePlus

More Historical Journal Citations are Now in MEDLINE/PubMed

[Editor Flahiff’s note: I remember when getting citations from 1966 was a big deal!]

From a November 1, 2010 US National Library of Medicine (NLM) Bulletin posting

More historical journal citations are now in MEDLINE®/PubMed® with the addition of over 48,000 citations from the 1946 Current List of Medical Literature (CLML). The National Library of Medicine® (NLM®) has been converting information from older print indexes that were the precursors to Index Medicus. When the original MEDLINE database made its debut in 1971, it contained citations to journal articles published from approximately 1966 forward. The 1946 CLML represents the 20th year going back in time to enhance access to the older biomedical literature. With the addition of the 1946 CLML citations, the OLDMEDLINE subset contains over two million citations.

NLM also continues the work of mapping the original keywords assigned to these older references so that current MeSH® terms (Medical Subject Headings) are added to the records and available for searching in PubMed.

Additional information about the OLDMEDLINE data project is available.

 

 

 

Dangerous chemicals in food wrappers likely migrating to humans: U of T study

From a November 8, 2010 University of Toronto news release

University of Toronto scientists have found that chemicals used to line junk food wrappers and microwave popcorn bags are migrating into food and being ingested by people where they are contributing to chemical contamination observed in blood.

Perfluorinated carboxylic acids or PFCAs are the breakdown products of chemicals used to make non-stick and water- and stain-repellant products ranging from kitchen pans to clothing to food packaging. PFCAs, the best known of which is perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), are found in humans all around the world.

“We suspected that a major source of human PFCA exposure may be the consumption and metabolism of polyfluoroalkyl phosphate esters or PAPs,” says Jessica D’eon, a graduate student in the University of Toronto’s Department of Chemistry. “PAPs are applied as greaseproofing agents to paper food contact packaging such as fast food wrappers and microwave popcorn bags.”…

….

“In this study we clearly demonstrate that the current use of PAPs in food contact applications does result in human exposure to PFCAs, including PFOA. We cannot tell whether PAPs are the sole source of human PFOA exposure or even the most important, but we can say unequivocally that PAPs are a source and the evidence from this study suggests this could be significant.”

Regulatory interest in human exposure to PAPs has been growing. Governments in Canada, the United States and Europe have signaled their intentions to begin extensive and longer-term monitoring programs for these chemicals. The results of this investigation provide valuable additional information to such regulatory bodies to inform policy regarding the use of PAPs in food contact applications.

###

The study  [full text here] was conducted by Jessica D’eon and Scott Mabury of the University of Toronto’s Department of Chemistry and is published today in Environmental Health Perspectives. Research was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

 

 

Psychologists identify influence of social interaction on sensitivity to physical pain

From a November 8, 2010 University of Toronto news release

TORONTO, ON – Psychologists at the University of Toronto have shown that the nature of a social interaction has the ability to influence an individual’s sensitivity to physical pain. The discovery could have significant clinical implications for doctor-patient relationships and the general well-being of an individual on a daily basis.

“Dozens of studies over the past several decades have demonstrated the impact of inadequate social connectedness on numerous health outcomes, including cardiovascular health, immune function, post-surgical recovery, and lifespan,” says Terry Borsook, a PhD student in the Department of Psychology at U of T and author of a new study published in PAIN. “Our study is among the first to show in humans that the perception of physical pain can be immediately impacted by the types of social experiences that people have in their everyday lives.”

In the study, healthy participants rated the intensity and unpleasantness of painful stimuli before and after engaging in a structured interaction with a trained actor who was instructed to be either warm and friendly or indifferent throughout the exchange. Participants who experienced the indifferent social exchange reported less sensitivity to pain after the interaction when compared to that measured before the exchange. Participants exposed to the positive social interaction, however, exhibited no change in pain sensitivity….

….

“If such everyday mildly unpleasant encounters are enough to provoke pain inhibition, then this suggests that many people may be exposed to chronic fight-or-flight responses, which can have many negative implications for health. This would be the case especially for people who are sensitive to social exclusion, such as those who feel lonely or fear rejection”

Borsook says that the results also have important clinical implications when it comes to seeing your doctor. “Health practitioners who are aloof, lack understanding, or are generally unresponsive to patients may provoke an analgesic response resulting in underestimated reports of pain, with insufficient pain control measures being a possible consequence.”

The findings are presented in a paper titled “Mildly negative social encounters reduce physical pain sensitivity“, published in the November issue of PAIN, the official publication of the International Association for the Study of Pain.

Editor Flahiff’s note: Click here to for ways to get this article for free or low cost

 

Views on health disparities fueled largely by political ideology

Harry Perlstadt, a Michigan State University sociologist, contends party ideology is more important than party affiliation when it comes to public perception of health disparities.

 

From a November 9 Michigan State University press release

EAST LANSING, Mich. — When it comes to public perception about health disparities in the United States, political ideology plays a surprisingly large role – more so even than party affiliation, according to new research by a Michigan State University sociologist.

“As far as our beliefs about unequal access to health care, whether we are conservative or liberal seems to be much more important than whether we are Republican or Democrat,” said Harry Perlstadt, professor of sociology.

Perlstadt’s study is the first to scientifically examine political and ideological beliefs on the issue of health disparities. He will present his findings today at the American Public Health Association’s 138th annual meeting in Denver….

…….He commissioned a telephone survey with MSU’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research that gathered information on the respondents and asked a series of questions regarding their beliefs about health disparities. The questions included, “How often do you think the health care system treats people unfairly based on whether they have health insurance?” and “How often does a person’s race or ethnic background affect whether they can get routine medical care when they need it?”

Perlstadt analyzed the survey data and found that race, age, sex, income and whether a respondent lived in an urban or rural community all influenced their beliefs on health disparities. Political party and ideology also affected their beliefs – only not quite as Perlstadt had predicted.